A felony child abuse charge has been filed against an Oshkosh man who gained notoriety for a series of protests that led him to be barred from all University of Wisconsin campuses.

Jeffrey S. Decker, 35, was charged Jan. 9 in Winnebago County Circuit Court with one count of intentionally causing harm to a child following a Jan. 8 incident at his home.

According to the criminal complaint, Decker struck his 12-year-old son during an argument. The boy said Decker dragged him upstairs by his leg and hit him several times.

Police responding to the call, which was made by the boy's mother, noted bruising and swelling on his face. The complaint states Decker acknowledged to police that he was involved in a physical disturbance with the boy, but declined to say whether he had hit his son.

Decker was released on a $1,000 signature bond. If convicted, he faces up to six years in prison.

The UW System convinced a judge to issue a restraining order against Decker in 2011, arguing that Decker's protests of UW campus's use of student fees aimed to intimidate and harass UW staff and representatives. The case eventually was heard by the Supreme Court, which upheld the injunction but returned the issue to circuit court for clarification. A Dane County Circuit Court judge refused to reopen the case, effectively ending the injunction.

Decker also faces a misdemeanor charge of resisting or obstructing an officer stemming from his appearance at a function at UW-Oshkosh in May. A trial on that charge is scheduled for Feb. 4.